§ 11. Mr. CummingsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of the number of jobs lost in the farming industry in Northern Ireland as a consequence of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy crisis. [7326]
§ Sir Patrick MayhewThe industry provides the equivalent of 15,900 full-time jobs in beef cattle enterprises. There are a further 2,850 in beef and sheepmeat processing, and 2,000 to 3,000 in ancillary industries.
349WThe export ban has had a greater effect on the Northern Ireland industry than anywhere else in the United Kingdom, because 55 per cent. by volume of Northern Ireland beef used to be exported outside the UK. It is not, however, as yet possible to estimate the jobs lost by this cause.